Items tagged with Jelly-Bean

If you’re running Android 4.3 or earlier, you’re pretty much out of luck when it comes to a baked-in defense against a WebView vulnerability that was discovered earlier this month by security analyst Tod Beardsley. The vulnerability leaves millions of users open to attack from hackers that choose to exploit the security hole. For those that don’t already know, WebView is a core component of the Android operating system that renders web pages. The good news is that the version of WebView included in Android 4.4 KitKat and Android 5.0 Lollipop is based on Chromium and is not affected by the vulnerability....Read more...

Republic Wireless made waves with its $19 per month unlimited everything wireless plan, but the catch was that you had to buy the phone outright--a decent but decidedly midrange Motorola Defy XT, which cost $249. Now, the company has scored a high-end handset with the Moto X (review here) for just $299, and in doing so, it’s seriously threatening the major carriers. The Moto X is a solid high-end smartphone, but more importantly, it’s one that customers are excited about buying. And considering that the major carriers are essentially all offering the device for $199 on contract, paying...Read more...

Despite Mark Zuckerberg’s protestations to the contrary, evidence is mounting that Facebook will indeed be releasing a Facebook-skinned phone. The latest confirmation comes from some leaked screenshots of the UI, which looks rich and clean. 9to5Google posted the images, which include separate Status, Photo, and Check-In icons above the apps on the main home screen, a colorful notification center that incorporates texts, phone calls, and social media all together, and copious sharing options for photos. The above is all in addition to AndroidPolice’s shots of the “Facebook Home”...Read more...

It’s been about a year and a half since Google released Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, yet a majority of Android devices still don’t run it. An even smaller percentage have the ‘tweener release, Android 4.1/4.2 Jelly Bean. There’s still a preponderance of Android devices stuck with Android 2.3 Gingerbread, which is all the more striking when you consider that Android 5.0 (likely codenamed Key Lime Pie) is coming soon. However, according to Android Developer data, all Android 4.0 versions (i.e., Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean) have finally overtaken Gingerbread on a majority...Read more...

Galaxy Nexus owners aren’t the only ones getting the Android Jelly Bean treatment; SamMobile announced that Android 4.1.2 is now rolling out for the original Samsung Galaxy Note, the company’s first phablet. The update will bring the Note up to speed with the Note II, as well as the Galaxy S III mini and the Galaxy S III. Galaxy Note users will now have the new Nature UX as well as performance improvements, multi-windows multitasking, Page Buddy, Notification Panel customization, Smart Rotation, access to Samsung cloud services, Google Now, and more. Features such as Multi-View multitasking...Read more...

Archos on Thursday announced the retail availability of its new GamePad device, or the "first true Android games console," as the company pitches it. The Android-powered GamePad is a new type of tablet that combines physical gaming button controls and Archos' patented mapping tool with a full Android tablet experience built around Jelly Bean (Android 4.1). It features full access to Google Play and Google Mobile Services. It's also only available in Europe for the time being, where it's selling for 149.99€, or $194.75 in U.S. currency. Speaking of which, Archos says the GamePad is destined...Read more...

Well it wasn’t quite the glamorous announcement in New York City that we were expecting thanks to Hurricane Sandy, but Google did decide to unveil the new spate of products that it was (presumably) going to talk about at today’s cancelled event. The big news is that, as expected, Google has a Nexus 10 tablet and Nexus 4 smartphone. LG is the manufacturer of the Nexus 4, and the phone features Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, a quad-core SnapDragon S4 processor, large 4.7-inch Gorilla Glass 2 display, 2GB of RAM, wireless charging capabilities, and micro USB and SlimPort HDMI ports. Google baked...Read more...

Amidst lots of other exciting announcements at its I/O conference last month, Google unveiled Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, the latest version of Google’s mobile OS. Now, the update is rolling out, and the first hardware to taste it will be Galaxy Nexus HSPA+ devices. (It makes sense; it’s hard to say how much longer the Galaxy devices will be sold in the U.S., thanks to Apple’s patent suit.) You can currently snag a Galaxy Nexus on the Google Play Store for $349 unlocked, and it will run on AT&T and T-Mobile networks. Jelly Bean isn’t a revolutionary update, but there are...Read more...

Enticing new hardware isn’t all that Google unveiled today at its Google I/O conference; the company also announced the latest version of Android as well as updates to the Google Play Store and Google+. Although it’s not Android 5.0 (which is fine, since plenty of users still haven’t sniffed Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich), Android 4.1 Jelly Bean is here. Amid some small performance upgrades such as better finger anticipation, a “smarter” keyboard, minor UI tweaks, there are some substantial upgrades to the mobile OS--some of which are virtually identical to new features...Read more...

Well well well, maybe the new guy in the CEO’s chair at Google knows what he’s doing. According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Google is revamping how it handles its Android business, starting with Android 5.0 Jelly Bean. If the report is accurate, Google is about to make some interesting business moves. Despite the fact that Android is the world’s top mobile OS, there are a couple of problems that it faces. Apple’s iOS is a constant thorn in Google’s side, not to mention the dent in Android’s market share that Windows 7 may eventually make. Further,...Read more...